Plant Based Summer Pesto Pasta Salad with Cannellini Beans

Salads

Summer Pesto Pasta with Cannellini Beans

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Prep

10 minutes

Yield

4 -5

Does anyone else hate being in the kitchen in the summertime or just get too busy with everything else you have going on that you forget to meal prep? Easy summer salad recipes can be critical for making sure you eat healthy all summer long when you’re too busy, and want to
spend all your time out in the sun.

I partnered with my friends at Bob’s Red Mill to make this super simple plant based pesto pasta salad recipe. You can throw this summer salad recipe together quick, and it’ll stay great in your fridge if you want to pack it for lunch, add it to your list of fav BBQ recipes, or bring it for a
potluck with your family and friends.

Bob’s Red Mill products are some of my favs because the company is committed to providing people with the best quality food, and its vegan friendly. Bob, the founder, has a passion for health and taking care of one another, and I can always trust their plant based products to be the best quality, and perfect to add into my fav summer salad recipes like this one, and beyond.

This super easy summer salad recipe is plant-based and so delicious!

Nutritional Yeast

For this plant based recipe I used Bob’s Red Mill’s Nutritional Yeast, and it’s no surprise that I love this stuff and put it on almost everything. Nutritional yeast is grown on enriched purified cane and beet molasses under carefully controlled conditions. With the addition of vitamin B12,
it is the ideal vegan support formula for plant based diets, plus it has an appealing cheese flavor that makes you want to sprinkle it on everything! Add it to your summer salad, like this, sprinkle it on popcorn, cereal, you can even add it to your juice.

Some of the major benefits are:

  • It’s a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids that we need and only get from food. One tablespoon contains two grams of protein, making it easy to add additional protein into a plant based diet.
  • It contains many B vitamins with only one tablespoon containing 30-180% of the required daily amount of B vitamins.
  • Contains trace minerals with one tablespoon containing 2-30% of the required daily amount of minerals such as zinc, selenium, manganese, and molybdenum.

This super easy summer salad recipe is plant-based and so delicious!

Cannellini Beans

Another star ingredient I used in this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill Cannellini Beans. These beans are also known as fagioli and haricots blancas, aka white kidney beans that are super popular in Italian, Greek, and French cuisines. These beans have a creamy texture with a mellow, nutty flavour, and really up the protein in this salad to make it filling. Some of the many benefits of these beans are:

  • Excellent protein source
  • Filled with fibre
  • Provides stable energy throughout the day
  • Help with heart health and decreases cancer risk
  • Aids in proper blood flow
  • Adds iron into your diet
  • Assists cognitive ability

Looking for more recipes? Here are 15 Vegan Pasta Recipes you’ll love.

This super easy summer salad recipe is plant-based and so delicious!

The pesto in this salad recipe, mixed with the beans and nutritional yeast, really adds a punch of summer flavours, making it one of my fav meal prep recipes, as well as summer BBQ recipes. Also, you can get creative with your pesto, it doesn’t just need to be basil. Add in other herbs to
really crank the flavour up! And if you’re gluten intolerant, you can substitute the pasta for a gluten free version or kelp noodles.

This super easy summer salad recipe is plant-based and so delicious!

This super easy summer salad recipe is plant-based and so delicious!

Need more plant based recipe inspiration? Here are some of my top salad recipes that are great for a side, potluck, or more.

Vegan Pasta recipe that is perfect for your next potluck. Big bowl on white countertop.

Summer Pesto Pasta with Cannellini Beans

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Salads and Greens
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 4 -5

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked pasta of choice
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked Cannellini Beans
  • 3 tbsp. homemade or store bought pesto
  • 1 cup grilled sweet corn
  • season to taste
  • 1 large zucchini peeled into ribbons
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil roughly cut, optional

Instructions
 

  • Into a large bowl combine all your ingredients and toss gently.  Serve with salad and grilled veggies!

Notes

Lasts up to one week in a tight sealed container in the fridge.
Great for meal prep and quick and easy lunches!
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